NEA Decries Weakening Protections for Survivors of Sexual Assault

Eskelsen García: The “Trump-DeVos agenda scorns survivors.”

WASHINGTON - September 07, 2017 -

National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García provided the following reaction to today’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Education will issue guidance that weakens federal Title IX protections for campus sexual assault and harassment survivors:

“Educators across the nation are appalled that the Department of Education has decided to weaken protections for students who survive campus sexual assault or harassment. This decision offends our collective conscience and conflicts with the basic values of equality, safety, and respect that we teach our students every day. Title IX is essential to protect each student's right to equal access to education and an educational experience free from violence. The 2011 U.S. Office of Civil Rights guidance says that both the survivor and the accused have the same rights and must be treated equally during all proceedings. Today’s announcement is another example of a Trump-DeVos agenda that scorns respect for survivors, including Secretary DeVos’s own recent meeting with radical anti-woman activists and the president’s own recorded sexual assault confession during the campaign.”

Follow NEA on Twitter at @NEAmedia

###

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing nearly 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.

[Poll name]

Email A Friend

Send This article to:

Enter the e-mail address of the recipient. Multiple addresses need to be separated by commas (200 characters max).

Add your message (optional):

Enter your e-mail address (required):

NEA respects your privacy! Your e-mail address, and that of your recipient, will be used only in the case of transmission errors and to let the recipient know who sent the story. The information will not be used for any other purpose.